05 Feb 2016 07:23:17
Hi Ed002
Can I ask, what the hell is going on with China?
These fees which are being reported (Ramires, Martinez, Texeira) now £57m for Oscar?
I read that the new president is a huge football fan and has changed football policy, signed a new huge TV deal etc. Can you give any clarity on this recent surge of power and how you see it developing over the next months.
Thanks.
{Ed002's Note - Since China opened up it has thrown a massive potential market in to the mix for professional sports (not just football, but there are other growth sports as well) and a number of Chinese companies see the potential for significant income form the game. Chinese money is already flooding through football with ownership and/or investment in clubs as diverse as Espanyol, Den Haag, Sochaux, Atletico Madrid, Slavia Prague and significantly, City Football Group. City of course owns Manchester City, New York City, Yokohama F Marino and Melbourne City - and are looking to expand in to China and South America. For years the professional game in China was under a cloud of corruption (including match-fixing) and the Chinese, and to be fair FIFA, have worked very hard to resolve the issues. The game is on the up there and they have the money to pretty much do what they want. They now a shift will be coming in Europe and I would expect to see further investment in European sides - there is one organization looking hard at Germany and another at Italy. They of course have to work within certain legal ownership frameworks and that will restrict investment in certain countries. Do not be surprised to see an English side be taken over by Chinese owners in the not too distant future. Meanwhile, the profile of the game at home is increasing and the market to be tapped significant. I spent several months in Hong Kong working in both 1988 and again in 1990 and it was clear then that the mainland needed a step change and it could get leverage over so much - since then that has happened. Six months working out of Beijing in 2005 (until they pretty much forced me out) showed that changes were happening - since then I understand from colleagues who do visit that it has moved on a lot.
The coming years will see lots of changes. You know about the pan-European breakaway proposals, well there is going to be a counter-proposal backed by UEFA to try and save their own skin which is soon to be tabled. There will be more global City Football Group style collectives appearing. There will be growth in China. And so it goes.}
05 Feb 2016 11:21:37
So there goes FFP then.
05 Feb 2016 11:21:37
So there goes FFP then.
{Ed002's Note - FFP is nothing to do with China.}
05 Feb 2016 17:05:58
Exactly.